Marcos thanks Duterte for father's hero's burial

Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. expressed his gratefulness to incoming President Rodrigo Duterte for favouring the burial of his father, Ferdinand Marcos, at the Libingan ng mga Bayani.

(Photo credit: Abscbn News)

“We are deeply grateful to the statement of our incoming President Rodrigo Duterte favoring the burial of the late President Ferdinand Marcos at the Libingan ng mga Bayani,” the senator stated.

Bongbong added that his father has the right to be buried at the Libingan ng mga Bayani for his service for the country as a former soldier and president of the Philippines. He also called Duterte’s plan for his father as a “kind, rightful and healing gesture.”

The outgoing senator believes that burying his father’s remains at the Libingan ng mga Bayani can lead towards unity for the entire country. He also believes that Duterte’s pronouncement about the former president can end years of divisiveness that have been imposed on the Filipino people by the leaders of the country.

Duterte has announced earlier his plans to allow the burial of the late president and dictator at the Libingan ng mga Bayani.

“I will allow the burial of President Marcos (at the) Libingan ng mga Bayani not because he is a hero but because he was a Filipino soldier, period,” Duterte explained.

Like Bongbong Marcos, Duterte also believes that this move can heal the old wounds of the Filipinos. “I am sure that I will erase among our people one hatred,” Duterte added.

However, there are still many sectors who disapprove of Duterte’s plan to allow the burial of Marcos at the Libingan ng mga Bayani, particularly the victims during the time of the late dictator’s Martial Law reign.

Bonifacio Ilagan, convenor of the Campaign against the Return of the Marcoses to Malacañang (CARMMA), explained that burying Ferdinand Marcos at the Libingan ng mga Bayani will send a wrong message to the country and the rest of the world that crime does pay in the Philippines.

Ilagan also noted that Marcos’ service as a soldier is inauthentic. "FM was a soldier who faked his medals and thus dishonored the honorable," Ilagan stated.